Group Think

Every person’s way of thinking is highly influenced by their society’s beliefs, values and, not least of all, its religion. This so-formed way of thinking has a major influence on whether or not the individual and the society as a whole succeed in particular areas. One thing that – across all cultures and religions – is keeping people away from improvement and success is group think: When people are not encouraged and trained to think for themselves but instead only reflect the ideas in their environment. Under such circumstances little or no development happens in society.

Unfortunately, nowadays there are still many countries and societies where people’s way of thinking is bound up in group think, and little improvement takes place. Along these lines it is particularly unfortunate, that even in western societies, which historically birthed a great deal of development and innovation, group think is on the rise again: Indeed, people who do not go along with a certain politically correct narrative are more and more ostracized. This step towards group think is going in the wrong direction because it is not bringing development to society – rather stagnation. The apostle Paul suggested this antidote for group think 2000 years ago: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (Romans 12:2).”